This is the story of Darias and Ren, two gods born of a human queen. They were born the princes of Atlantis and their lives were nearly destroyed by the Olympian God Zeus. After a lifetime of rape, torture and violence, Darias attacks Zeus and is cursed by Apollo. He can never see the sun again and must hunt humanity for their blood. The vampire is created. Learning of his brother's plight, Ren attacks Zeus, thinking that he is the God who cursed his brother. Ren will be cursed by Artemis. He will be ruled by the moon and be forced to change into a beast who hunts humanity for their flesh. The Forsaken is created. This is their story. Many of the Greek and Egyptian Gods will be featured in this story. I did research, but I felt it was necessary for this story to change certain things about the Gods. This is only a story so please don't try to correct me. This is the beginning of the Vampire Saga. This is how it all began. So just enjoy the ride. This story contains scenes depicting violence, death, murder, torture, rape, homosexuality, heterosexuality, homosexual sex, heterosexual sex and has a strong violent and sexual theme. If it is not legal in your place of residence for you to read this type of material, or if you are offended by this type of material please leave the site now. For all others the chapter links are below.

Their cries could be heard all over Olympus. Poseidon paced back and forth in his temple, alternating between anger and sadness as he listened to his twin sons cry out for him and the other Gods. Day after day they came to their temples to ask for help, for intercession or just to be heard. He hated his brother for what was happening to his sons. He knew that Zeus was behind it. Had he learned nothing from the Fates? They'd warned him in plain words. Never before had the Fates spoken of the future so directly. It had always been riddles, leaving the questioner just as confused as the three Fates seemed to be after speaking their riddle answers. However this time, and any time any of them came to them to ask about the twins they answered them with clear answers. There were no riddles this time. They'd told them all that the twins would become dark Gods because of what Zeus would have done to them. He knew that by the time they came to the age that their powers would begin they would hate them all. He knew this because the Fates had said that they would never forgive any of the Gods for what was happening to them all of their lives.

"You never leave your temple," said the voice of Hades as he flashed into Poseidon's temple.

"Why should I have anything to do with any of you?" Poseidon asked, looking at his brother with open contempt. "Don't tell me you do not hear my sons."

Hades was stunned and shocked. All it took was for those words to be uttered in the presence of an Elder Olympian God. Poseidon had spat them out like venom. There was no going back from this. He'd renounced his Olympian Godhood. All that kept him a God was his claim to Atlantis. The others would know of this already. Once the words were said in the presence of one Elder God it was known to all of the Gods of the pantheon. Poseidon was lost to them. Hades felt himself being drawn away from Poseidon's temple. He bowed his head in sadness and let himself be drawn back to his own realm.

* * *

Darias sat at Phalon's table with Raphael, playing Stones while his brother Ren paced back and forth in the small room that served as Phalon's kitchen. Phalon was the royal instructor. He'd taught both Darias and Ren since they'd been old enough to think. Raphael was like a brother to the two princes and Phalon like a father. It made no difference to either Darias or Ren that Phalon and Raphael were Greek. They were family and that's all that mattered to either of the princes.

"You'll wear a rut in the stone floor, Ren," Darias said as he made his move against Raphael's pieces on the board.

"How can you sit there, playing Stones when you know what is coming?" Ren demanded.

His blond hair was long and tied back with a royal blue ribbon that matched his tunic. The tunic was blue with white lace ruffles at the collar and the shoulders. It was long, stopping just above the knee to show Ren's tight white trousers. The cow hide boots, dyed black as night came to his mid calf. His trident and sash were in the living space, draped unceremoniously across the bench. His blue eyes, so like the morning sky bored into Darias's matching eyes. Ren's showed anger.

"You know there's nothing we or anyone else can do to change what Savetor is doing, Ren," Darias said. "In five Sundays we will be out from under his thumb. Our time is coming, Brother."

The bells sounded to mark half day. Darias, Ren and Rafael walked out to the courtyard of the Sun. They'd grown into strong young men. Their blond hair was a bit lighter and brighter than that of the other Atlantians. Their eyes a touch more like the sea that surrounded the island. At fifteen years old they already had sculpted physiques that rivaled those of the soldiers that taught Ren battle. They were athletic and loved to have fun. Phalon had trouble keeping the twins in line, and because of this his own son who was often too ill to participate in their games was unruly.

Rafael was so loved by the twins. They thought of him as a brother. They were always patient with him when he was ill or too winded to run and play. They always sat with him when he was too sick to leave his bed, and they never made him feel like anything other than one of them. Phalon loved them for that and so much more. He knew what their stepfather was doing to them, and he wished he could stop the man. He was only a Greek teacher. Savetor was the Queen's Consort. He'd be executed if he intervened too far.

"Come boys," he said, running his fingers through his dark hair. "It's time for your lessons."

"No, father," said Rafael. "It's time for lunch. Then we have lessons."

"Come then," laughed Phalon. "We'll see what the cook has made us for lunch. Then I expect you all to sit for your lessons and not give me grief."

"Yes, Sir," the three said in unison, making him laugh.

The courtyard of the Sun was very large. There was a hedge maze infused with the orchids of Aphrodite in white and purple. At its center was a statue of Artemis with stone benches surrounding it. The statue stood in the middle of a round bed of moon flowers, Artemis was said to have created them and given them to Atlantis. They grew nowhere else.

He led the children along the white stone path to the kitchens where the cook would have lunch prepared for them. She loved them each almost as much as he did. All who knew the twins loved them. All but their stepfather. They filed in to the dining hall and took their seats as servants, beautiful Atlantian blond women in gleaming tunics gave them bowls of turnip stew with small bits of dried meat and the round beans that grew near the sea.

They talked and laughed as they ate, planning a great game of Stones that Rafael loved so much. Darias would play with him for hours until his guards came for him to return him to the palace for the night. Phalon loved him for the time he spent with Rafael and his made up game of Stones. Only Darias seemed to understand the rules. They would play while Ren was off with the soldiers to learn the spear and the trident. Phalon thought it was wrong to teach one so young the rules of destruction, but he was only employed to teach them about the Gods of Atlantis and Greece, reading and writing and simple arithmetic. The twins he now taught politics and social lessons. They were princes of Atlantis after all. Rafael had those lessons as well, but that was only because the twins wouldn't hear of him being left out.

They sat through their lessons on the Gods, though Phalon knew that Darias and Ren needed no lessons on who the Gods were and what they were Gods of. They had always known who the Gods were and exactly what they did. He took the trio of boys to the Temple of the Gods at Sunday where they would place their handmade offerings at the feet of the statues of the Gods. He would allow them time alone in the Temple of Poseidon afterward. He had no idea what they said or did when they were in their father's temple. The high priests of the temple never talked about what the twins said or did in the temple, and he was too respectful to ask them.

When his lessons were taught for the day, Ren went off with the soldiers and Rafael set up the board for Stones in the small hut they lived in. Darias sat with a cup of moon punch to wait for Rafael to get set up. They played for only an hour before the guards came for Darias and took him back to the palace. It was a full two hours before time, and Phalon knew that Darias was in trouble once again for some transgression he probably hadn't even known about.

Darias walked with his head held high at the center of the four guards who had come for him. He did not cry or show fear for what he knew was coming. His stepfather hated him and his brother because they were the sons of a God. He punished them for imaginary transgressions and no one stopped him. Darias often wondered why, if they were the sons of Poseidon, the Gods didn't intercede. He was growing to mistrust the Gods. They never did what they were supposed to do. It had been fifteen years, some said since any of the Gods had shown up in their temples. It was as if the Gods had abandoned Atlantis, and Poseidon in particular had abandoned more than just Atlantis. He'd turned his back on his own sons.

He could hear the thoughts of the guards who loved him and cared for him as if they were each his father. They hated Savetor for what he was doing to the twins, but they were powerless to stop it. They delivered him to the evil man and waited outside his chambers to collect him when he was finished with him. They heard Darias's screams as he was violated, and they heard Savetor's laughter and then his bellows as he chastised the boy for making him want him. He told him he would be punished for making him do what he was doing. All the while Darias screamed and begged for him to stop. It did no good. The guards looked straight ahead and prevented anyone on the staff from coming too close for fear they'd share their shame for what was happening to the prince they all loved so much.

When the doors opened and the queen's consort came out dragging the naked prince behind him by his hair each of the guards wanted to step in, but they knew with Queen Amaila ensconced in her bed with her sickness there was nothing to stop Savetor from doing what he was doing. They followed him to the scold where he pardoned the whip master before telling him to give Darias twenty lashes while he forced the guards to watch. The four grown men began to weep for their tortured prince, wincing with every lash that bit into the boy's back and legs. Darias howled in pain with every lash.

When it was over they helped their raped, abused and tortured prince to his chambers where Savetor said he was to spend the rest of the day and evening. He was not to be given supper and they were to see to it. Of course they would sneak him food. They always did. Then they would sit in the outer chamber from his bed chamber, listening to him sob and plot Savetor's death.

Less than an hour later four new guards were bringing Ren in through the palace gates to undergo the same torture as his brother. These guards felt exactly the same as the others about what was being done to the prince they were charged to protect. They were powerless to protect him from this, and they hated Savetor for what he was doing.

The eight of them were confused as the physicians were called to Savetor's chambers later that night. They laughed when they learned that he was afflicted with boils all over his penis and buttocks. So the Gods had finally decided to do something. The news of his condition traveled fast. The eight guards took pleasure in telling their princes what had happened to their stepfather. The boys didn't care. They were in too much pain to be happy about his plight. He, like they would heal over night and the violence and rapes would happen again the next day. It was a terrible existence, and the guards went back to plotting Savetor's death.

What was more infuriating was that the people of Atlantis, though they loved their princes never saw the queen anymore. They only saw Savetor. Many of them saw him as a king, but they all knew that he could never be king. The next king of Atlantis would be Darias if he lived to reach majority and survived the death of his mother.

When the night set of guards relieved them the eight men told their replacements what had happened. It was a well known fact with all of the guards who guarded either prince that Savetor was insane and cruel to the boys. They all knew about the rapes as well, but to kill Savetor was an automatic execution. What they all had to decide was how much more they loved their princes than their own lives.

It had been going on for years. Even Phalon knew what was happening to the princes when they left his hut after finishing their lessons. It became a whispered secret all through the palace. The boys now openly cursed all of the Gods but especially their father. They vowed to make their stepfather pay for what he was doing, but until they reached majority they couldn't even accuse him.

"You know I would help you if I could, lads," Phalon said when the twins came to him the next morning for their lessons. So much had happened to them by that time that he didn't even know how they held their heads up.

"You can't help us," Darias said. "But we love you for wanting to."

"I would if I didn't have Rafael to look after," Phalon said honestly.

"We wouldn't want Rafael to lose his father," Ren said. "If you go against Savetor he'll have you executed. I can't believe Mother gave him such power."

"She's weak," Darias said. He had no patience for his mother's illness. He had no patience for most of her staff, and he hated his stepfather and the men who were his friends that took such pleasure in violating him and his brother. One day he would make them all pay. He just didn't know when it would happen.

"She's ill," said Ren. He was ever one to defend her.

"I tell you if Savetor could get away with it he'd kill Mother and try to take the throne," Darias said. He was often saying things like this. His brother always cautioned him to keep his thoughts to himself.

"But he knows that if anything happens to her you will be king," said Ren.

"I would be king in name only until I reach majority," Darias reminded him. "Savetor would be even more in charge until then. He'd do something to make the people of Atlantis hate me, and they'd revolt when I took my rightful place as their ruler."

"We shouldn't be having this discussion, lads," Phalon said as he took their tablets for grading. "Too many walls have ears these days."

"I just wish our father would do something to help us," Darias said for the millionth time. "Instead he and all of the Gods have abandoned us. I don't even know what we did to make them turn their backs."

"We were born," Ren said. Darias knew he was right. They both knew all about Olympus and all of the Gods who lived there. They feared them or hated them. It just depended on which God you were discussing.

"Well I hate them all," he said with a sigh. "They can all stay on Olympus until they turn to stone for all I care. If they couldn't come to help us when we were little then I want nothing to do with them ever."

"Is that why you've stopped going to the temples?" Ren asked. "Every time I ask you to go with me you say no."

"I refuse to give them offerings when they won't even answer my prayers," he snapped. "Why should I even pretend to love them?"

"Because they're the Gods, lad," Phalon said softly.

"Yes," Darias said coldly. "And look how they favor us. We're the children of a God, Phalon. Where has our father been all this time?"

They couldn't go out of the palace without guards now. The people went crazy or something when they saw them. They shouted the most vile things at them. Sure they claimed to love them, but they lusted after them and made it clear every time they saw them. Darias didn't understand why the guards didn't do more than keep them away. It was disrespectful the way they tried to touch them and told them what they wanted to do to their bodies.

"The only God I know for certain loves us is banned from Atlantis," Darias said with a sigh. "We've never been allowed to leave Atlantis, so I can't go to Egypt to find him. Ra loves us."

"Careful, lad," Phalon said quickly. "Mentioning the Egyptian Gods will get you into trouble."

"What can they do to me that hasn't already been done, Phalon?" he asked bitterly. "They've robbed us of our innocence, they beat us, whip us and break our bones. We heal over night every time. They can't kill us. If they banished us it would only be a blessing."

* * *

Poseidon sat on his throne on Olympus listening to his sons talk about how much they hated him. It was all Zeus's fault. Oh how he hated his brother. It rained constantly on Olympus now. Artemis complained about it endlessly, but Poseidon wouldn't stop the rain until Zeus let him go to his sons. He'd done something so that none of them could flash themselves to Atlantis. They were banned from Egypt, so he couldn't contact Isis. He wondered why she hadn't intervened for their sons. He often wondered why she never lifted a finger to help him. He was forbidden and prevented, but she was their mother. She'd told him she would look after them.

Somehow he knew that was Zeus's fault too. Atlantis was now a Godless place. His sons were raped and tortured nightly and had been for most of their lives. It was all Zeus's fault. Every bit of it. The Fates had warned him about what his actions would ultimately cause, but still he filled Savetor with lust and hatred. Poseidon hated Zeus more than any other being in existence.

"Do you plan to drown us all on Olympus, brother?" Athena said as she entered his temple.

"It will rain on Olympus until I am reunited with my sons, Athena," he said bitterly. "I asked you and all of the others to help me and you refused."

"Zeus would banish the lesser Gods from Olympus if we did what you wanted," she replied as she did every time he brought it up.

"He won't have to try to banish me," Poseidon informed her, making her nervous. "When this ban is lifted I'm leaving Olympus, and I'm never coming back."

"Don't say such things," she said, coming to stand in front of his throne. "You can't abandon Olympus. You'd wither."

"No I won't," he said. "There's a pantheon waiting for me above Atlantis. It's rightfully mine. I will live out my eternity there with my sons, and Zeus will be unwelcome."

"You would abandon us?" said the voice of Zeus as he stepped into the temple.

"You are not welcome in my temple," Poseidon said, getting to his feet. "Be gone from this place."

"I am welcome anywhere on Olympus, Poseidon," Zeus said.

"You have cursed my children to a life of misery and pain," Poseidon said. "I've drenched your precious Olympus every day since the first time my children were hurt. You are no brother of mine, Zeus. I hate you."

"So you've said, brother," Zeus said, shaking his head. "But you would abandon Olympus and all who love you to take residence in an empty realm with your two sons?"

"Anywhere is better than here with the traitors that are my family," Poseidon said and flashed himself away from his temple.

"He counts us all in his traitorous family now," Athena said.

"All of this is his fault," Zeus said as he stood there, glaring at the throne that Poseidon had abandoned.

"His fault?" she asked. "How is it Poseidon's fault?"

"He should never have mated with the Goddess of another pantheon," he snapped and then flashed out of Poseidon's temple.

She went back to her own temple but was only there for a few moments before Aphrodite flashed herself in front of her. She was drenched from head to toe and looked like a drowned rat. Athena nearly laughed until she saw the fear on her niece's face. She wondered just what had happened now.

"There are severe storms over Greece!" she cried. "The people are terrified. What's going on?"

"Poseidon," said Athena. "Zeus angered him."

"This has to stop," sighed Aphrodite. "He's going to destroy Greece if this keeps up."

"He says when the ban is lifted he's leaving Olympus and never coming back," said Athena. "He's going to move to Mount Atlantis and live with his sons."

"He can't do that," Aphrodite said. "We'll talk to him."

"I don't know that it would do any good," Athena said sadly. "He counts us all as his traitorous family."

"All of us?" Aphrodite gasped.

"That's what he said before he went to attack Greece," Athena replied. "He and Zeus had words and then he said that."

"This has got to stop," sighed Aphrodite as she willed herself into dry clothes.

"Something's happening," Athena said as she cocked her head to the side. "The people are crying out for war."

"What?" gasped Aphrodite.

"The Greeks," she said. "They want to invade Atlantis!"

The rains thundered the ground over Greece. Poseidon stood on top of the highest cliff, hurling the storms over Greece. Then he heard them. They wanted to attack Atlantis. His decision was made there and then. He knew that Zeus was behind this in an attempt to kill his sons. Damn him. He flashed himself into one of the outlying villages and stopped the first blond haired man he saw. He used his powers to change the man's appearance. Now he looked like Duku, the King of Greece's advisor. He sent that man to Atlantis to warn the palace that Greece was going to invade. Then he flashed himself back to the cliff and hurled more storms over Greece. They couldn't prepare if he flooded the country.

"You'll not stop this," Zeus said as he appeared beside him.

"You did this," Poseidon said coldly. "Is it not enough that you've made me hate you? Do you have to make me try to kill you?"

"You would try?" Zeus asked.

"If I could but get word to Isis I wouldn't have to lift a finger," Poseidon said as he hurled more and more storms into Greece. He brought wind and more and more rain. Hail and ice rained on the city. Trees were uprooted and thrown at homes. This was going to be the most destructive storm he'd ever created.

"How have we come to this, brother," Zeus asked, looking sad.

"You did this," Poseidon said.

"No, you did this when you mated with Isis," Zeus replied.

"That's what all of this is about?" he asked, turning to look at his brother. "You hate her so much that you've destroyed the lives of my children and turned me against the entire pantheon?"

"Know this, brother," Poseidon said in a cold and dangerous voice. "I will destroy Greece before I let them invade Atlantis."

"You love Greece," Zeus argued.

"No," he snapped. "I love my sons, and you are setting up your precious Greeks to invade my country in the hopes that their armies will kill my sons. I will destroy every one of them who set foot on Atlantis. Mark me. I don't have to be there to know who they are."

"Do you not understand what kind of Gods your sons will become?" Zeus bellowed.

"I understand the kind of Gods you will force them to become," Poseidon countered. "Everything that is happening is your fault. If you had just left them alone and not forbade me to look after them they would have grown up and joined us on Olympus. Sure they'd have had a tie to Egypt, but they would still have been Olympians. Now they'll be Atlantian. This is all your fault."

"They will never be Olympian," Zeus said.

"No, they won't," said Poseidon. "For that and so much else I hate you, brother. My own sons cried out to me in my temple. They told me all that their stepfather had done to them because you put hatred for them in his heart. Now they curse us all. You did this."

"What are you saying, Poseidon?" Zeus demanded.

"I'm saying I renounce my Olympian status," he spat. "I am Atlantian now. You have had your Greeks declare war on my people. So we are now at war, brother. I will never return to Olympus. Your ban on Atlantis means nothing to me now. I am not yours to command. I never was, and I was foolish to allow you to meddle in what is mine. No more, Zeus. I will destroy your people if you let them invade mine."

They were startled when Athena appeared before them. She glared from one of them to the other and then screamed, forcing the warriors of Greece out of their homes to the battle field. She wailed at her brothers in agony. Then she let out a sigh and her warriors were clothed in armor with weapons in their hands.

"The Atlantians are in ships, heading for Greece to invade," she said coldly. "How could you do this, Poseidon?"

"I did this because Zeus was about to send the Greeks to invade Atlantis," he replied. "I didn't ready the Atlantians to invade. They're coming to defend. I told Zeus if one Greek soldier sets foot on Atlantian soil I will destroy Greece. I've already renounced Olympus and Zeus. I'm now an Atlantian God. I will protect what's mine."

"You've declared war on Olympus?" she gasped.

"No," he said. "Zeus declared war on Atlantis. I'm simply answering his call."

* * *

Darias and Ren readied themselves for battle. Phalon and Rafael looked at them sadly, knowing that one or both of them could be killed in the battle. Their hearts were heavy, but these were the princes of Atlantis, and they'd been trained to defend their homeland. Now they would be boarding ships to set off for Greece because Duku had come and told the generals that Greece was readying to attack Atlantis.

"They're just boys," Phalon said to Falion once again. "They're not even sixteen!"

"They are princes of Atlantis, Phalon," said Falion. His blond hair flowing around his head and shoulders as he shook his head. His blue eyes bored into Phalon's as he spoke. "Their place is at the head of the soldiers."

"We're ready," said Ren as he stood up and put his trident through the loop in his belt.

"Please, lads," Phalon begged. "Appeal to Poseidon to stop this war before it's too late."

"Poseidon doesn't care about Atlantis or his sons," Darias said. "We're going to war, Phalon. It's out of our hands and yours. Now we're going to miss our ship."

They left the barracks and headed for the docks. Savetor and his guards came with them. Just looking at his stepfather made Darias's skin crawl. He hoped the man would die on the battle field. He wasn't trained as a soldier. Darias knew the only reason he was suiting up to take the trip to Greece was to keep him and his brother under his thumb. What he hadn't planned on was the fact that both of them were armed now. They were lethal on the battle field. Falion and his men had trained them right.

"If you think this cancels your nightly punishments you're both dead wrong," Savetor said as they boarded the ship.

"If you come near either of us again, Savetor, I'll run you through with a trident," Darias said. "They won't hang a prince for executing a pervert."

The man stood there on the deck of the ship with his mouth hanging open. He was stunned to stupid silence in the face of his stepson's anger. What he didn't understand was that Darias and Ren hated him so much that killing him would make them happy. Darias wouldn't stop with Savetor though. He wanted every officer of the scold put to death after being lashed twice for every lash they'd given him and his brother. He wanted Savetor raped and beaten before he was executed. He vowed to himself that he'd see it happen. Then he and his brother walked away from Savetor and headed for their cabin.

Their ship moved out of the dock as soon as the last soldier was aboard. Savetor made his way to the cabin he'd been assigned. It was next to the cabin his stepsons were assigned to. He planned to punish Darias for his insolent mouth. He couldn't wait for the scold to be set up on the ship. It was supposed to be for whipping traitors, but he'd have him trussed and whipped. He'd have him striped from his head to his feet and then parade him around the ship for his fellow soldiers to see.

He sat at his table to eat his portion of the dry flat bread with cheese and an apple. War food was never good, but Atlantis had never known war before. Her soldiers trained for battle that had never come until now. Somehow he knew it was the fault of his stepsons. As he ate his anger grew. When he was finished he decided it was time enough for the scold to be set up. He decided to put his plan for Darias into motion. He got up and went to stand in front of the four guards on the door to their cabin.

"Open the door," he said. "Prince Darias was insolent and has to be punished."

As soon as he stopped speaking the door was opened from inside. Darias stood, smirking at him in the doorway. He wanted to grab him by his hair and drag him to the scold. He couldn't believe the boy's arrogance. Did he not know that he would break him? He glared back at Darias's blue eyed smirk.

"You forget yourself, Consort," said Darias sarcastically. "As of the moment war was declared by Greece and we were activated as soldiers of Atlantis we were automatically raised to majority. You are nothing more than a consort to our mother. We are the sovereign princes of Atlantis. You can't order us to be punished for any reason. You have raped us and had us whipped every night since we were seven years old. For that I name you traitor.

"I need more guards," he said to his own guards. "Savetor is confined to his cabin until the scold is set up. I will have more orders shortly."

"Yes, Highness," they said in unison as Savetor's face paled and his eyes grew large.

"You can't do this," he breathed.

"Oh, but I can," Darias said, smiling coldly at him. "Your days of terrorizing and torturing us are over, Savetor. You'll hang for it because I say so."

The guards arrived and dragged him back to his cabin while Darias held his cold smile on his face. Ren had come to the door to watch. The boy actually laughed. It couldn't be law. He was the queen's consort! He was to be obeyed while she was indisposed. Did they know that he'd been having her drugged? Surely not or he'd have lost his head already. Savetor was afraid for the first time in his life.

"You're going to have him hanged?" Ren asked when their door was shut.

"No," replied Darias. "I'm going to have him raped and whipped. I'm going to have him raped and whipped every night until we return to Atlantis. Then I'm going to have him hanged."

"Brother, you are blood thirsty," laughed Ren. "I only wish Phalon and Rafael were here to see it."

"Phalon would probably hold him down for the rape and laugh as it happened," Darias said. "He hates Savetor for what he's done to us."

"He hates a lot of people for what they've done to us," Ren replied.

"Oh, fear not, brother," said Darias. "I plan to drag them all out into the open and have them publicly executed for their part in our torture and rapes."

There was a knock at their door. They looked at each other and then Darias stood to answer the door. Standing on the other side was a man that Darias had never seen before, but he knew who he was. He'd never seen the man before, but he'd laid offerings at the feet of his likeness in the temple until a few years ago. The giant of a man with his flowing blond hair and dazzling blue eyes that stood before him in his tunic of white with golden laurel leaves embroidered around the neck and sleeves with his trident hanging from his belt was their father, Poseidon, God of the Sea and Storms.

"Darias," said Poseidon as he smiled.

"What do you want?" Darias asked coldly.

"Who is it?" Ren asked, coming to stand beside his brother. He fell silent as he looked into the eyes of his father.

"I know you both hate me and all of the Gods," Poseidon said. "But if you would just let me explain."

"Explain why you left us to be raped and tortured at the hands of Savetor and his friends for seven years?" Ren demanded. "We cried for you, father, and you never came."

"I never came because Zeus forbade me," he said. "He decreed that no Olympian God could set foot on Atlantis for any reason, and we weren't to answer your cries."

"So what's changed?" Darias asked. He still looked at his father coldly. He clearly didn't believe him.

"Two things," Poseidon said. "You are not on Atlantian soil now. You're on a ship in the sea which is my domain. Second, I have renounced Olympus and Zeus. I'm now strictly an Atlantian God."

"You could have done that seven years ago when we were first raped and tortured," Ren said.

"I needed time to gather power," Poseidon explained. "Then Zeus got his Greeks to declare war on Atlantis. I sent a savage spy to Falion to tell him what was happening. I disguised him as Duku of Greece so he'd believe it. Now here you are."

"Come inside," said Darias, but that cold look had not left his blue eyes.

Poseidon ducked his head and stepped inside the small cabin. He looked around at the state of it and sighed. His sons should have the best of everything. They were princes and Gods. He could chalk all of this up to Zeus again. The King of the Olympian Gods had much to answer for it seemed. He sat in one of the four chairs at their small table which was still covered with the dry flat bread, cheese and apples.

"Where is Savetor now?" he asked as he looked up at his sons.

"Darias had him confined to his cabin," Ren said, smiling. "He plans to have him raped and whipped for every night we're away from Atlantis. When we return he plans to have him hanged for his crimes."

Poseidon nodded at that. He couldn't blame his son for wanting to repay his tormentor in kind. It made his heart heavy that his son felt he needed to do this, but he hadn't been there to help him so he couldn't weep over what his son had become. The Fates had warned them all about this.

"Savetor was afflicted with boils every night," Darias said, taking the seat across from his father. "Was that your work?"

"Boils?" laughed Poseidon. "No, that would be the work of Aphrodite or possibly Ra."

"You do not know?" Poseidon asked. "I was told that Herad gave you knowledge of the Gods. I thought surely that would give you the truth about your parentage."

"We know all about the Olympian Gods, and since you are now the Atlantian God completely I suppose we know about the Atlantians as well," Darias said. "That doesn't explain how Ra is our brother."

"I had hoped that your mother would tell you," he said. "Why is she not here with you? I've never sensed her near you in all of these years."

"Our mother is ill," said Ren. "She's in her bed in the palace."

"That's not your mother, Ren," Poseidon said with a sigh. "I'm afraid something terrible has happened, but then I have no power over Egypt. That would be Set. Your mother is Isis, the Egyptian Goddess of Creation."

They sat stunned for a few moments just looking at their father. Darias didn't believe it. After all he was only a demigod. He wasn't a God. If Isis was his mother and Poseidon was his father that would make him a God. A full God with ties to Olympus and Egypt. He had no powers unless you counted his ability to hear the thoughts of others and to empathize with everything. They could both do these things as well as see and communicate with the dead. These were demigod powers. They weren't full God powers.

"We're not Gods," Ren said while Darias continued to think of protests.

"You are," Poseidon replied. "When you reach actual majority your God powers will manifest. They were hidden by your mother when you were born. She also changed your appearances so you'd blend with the Atlantians."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Darias demanded.

"You were both born with black hair and onyx eyes," he said. "You were born with Egyptian characteristics. She changed them so your birth mother would believe you were her sons."

Ren pulled his braid around his neck and looked at his blond hair. He looked into his brother's blue eyes that were so much like Poseidon's. He couldn't believe they were merely the illusion of a Goddess's power. It would mean that everything about them was a lie. He supposed it didn't matter one way or the other. No one saw them for what they really were anyway. They saw them as beautiful, desirable blond haired Adonises when they were so much more and a lot less than that.

"If Isis is our mother then where has she been?" Darias demanded. "I realize there are no temples for her in Atlantis, but you said she was going to look after us. This is the first we've heard of her. Now we know Ra, well we don't know him, but we know enough about him. For some strange reason I believe he loves us. You say he's our brother. Maybe that's why I feel this way. But where are they?"

A Goddess flashed into their cabin and then stopped short. She was the most beautiful woman they'd ever seen. Of course they knew she was Aphrodite. They'd placed offerings at the feet of her likeness in the Temple of the Gods often enough. What Darias couldn't understand was why she'd appeared in the first place.

"Poseidon, they're beautiful," she beamed, looking from Ren to Darias and back again. "Oh, I'm so happy to finally see you in the flesh. It's been nearly sixteen years since I've been in the same room with you."

"Let him," she said, smiling again. "My mother will have his head. Besides I can always move to Mount Atlantis with you if he does. I like the Atlantians better than the Greeks anyway."

"Why did you come here?" he asked.

"For two reasons really," she said. "First I wanted to see if I could. He did something to keep us from appearing in Atlantis, but I wanted to test that now that the boys aren't actually in Atlantis. I wanted to see if he'd made it so we couldn't get to them or if it was just Atlantis. I've answered that one. Second, I came to tell you that Athena has her generals all ready for you. If you land where they expect they'll ambush you."

"Thank you, niece," he said, smiling. "But the Atlantians have a God on their side. I've already decided to change the setting."

"Do they know?" she asked, beaming at him.

"About?" he asked.

"You're both immortal," she said, turning that beaming smile on them. "Hades made sure of it the day you were born. You can be hurt, which I think is wrong, but he couldn't do anything about that. He made you immortal though. He wanted to at least be able to protect you from death."

"Is that why we heal from any injury over night?" Darias asked. He was at least thankful for that. He'd seen the wounds the soldiers had sustained on the practice field. They'd been injured for days and the evidence had been visible for weeks.

"Yes," she said, smiling again. "Nothing that is done to you is permanent. Unfortunately some of it rubbed off on that terrible man who is your stepfather. I cursed him with boils, but I have to do it every night. Has he touched you today?"

"No," laughed Ren. "Darias had him confined to his quarters. He's to be raped and whipped every night until we return to Atlantis. Then he'll hang for his crimes against us."

"No," she laughed. "I'm a Goddess. I see you as you really are. When your God powers manifest you'll see yourselves as you really are, too. I suppose you could just change your forms back to what they were supposed to be if you wanted for that matter."

"When do our God powers manifest?" Ren asked.

"On your sixteenth birthday," she said. "Didn't Isis tell you any of this?"

"They've never met their mother," Poseidon said. "Something happened to prevent her from carrying out her promise to protect them."

"I'll bet it was Zeus somehow," Aphrodite said. "He's the one who put hatred in Savetor's heart for them. I think he was hoping the man would kill them. He obviously didn't know that Hades had given them immortality."

"What did we ever do to Zeus to make him hate us?" Ren asked with wide eyes.

"You were born," Poseidon replied. "He fears you, so he hates you."

"Fears us?" Darias scoffed. "We've been the whipping boy of Savetor for eight years. Why would anyone fear us?"

"My daughters looked into your future and saw what you will become," said Aphrodite. "I can't say any more than that, because you shouldn't know the future any more than we should."

"So Zeus hates us," Darias said. It explained a few things. He supposed that was why his father hadn't come for them sooner. Now that he was an Atlantian God and not an Olympian one he might be there for them more often. "I want to meet my mother and brother."

"Me, too," said Ren.

"When this is over I'll take you to her," promised Poseidon. He looked at Aphrodite. "You should get back before Zeus comes looking for you."

"All right," she said, smiling at the boys again. "I love you both so very much."

Then she was gone. They sat there, staring at the spot where she'd been for a full minute before they looked at each other. Darias supposed he had no choice but to accept what Poseidon had told him. Zeus was their enemy and had kept the Gods from helping them. It only made him hate Zeus even more than he already did. He still wanted to meet his mother and brother though. It sounded as if in two years he could take his place at their side or at his father's side. He wasn't sure what to think about that. He was supposed to be the next King of Atlantis.

"What could Zeus do to an Egyptian Pantheon of Gods to keep them away from Atlantis?" Ren asked.

"It has something to do with what he did to Atlantis itself," Poseidon replied. "Isis and all of the Egyptian Gods should be able to contact you now that you're not in Atlantis. They probably just don't know it yet."

"How can we tell them?" Darias asked.

"Well theoretically you should be able to call out to her," said Poseidon. "She is your mother, so she should hear your call."

"Do you want to do that now?" Ren asked. "I mean we're headed into battle. Do you really want to involve the Egyptian Gods in this battle?"

"Well the Olympians are already involved," Darias replied. "From the sounds of it, the entire thing was started by Zeus as a ploy to kill us."

"You're right," sighed Darias. "I don't want to get them mixed up in a war started by Zeus."

"You'll have time to contact your mother," said Poseidon. "As I said before, when this is over I'll take you to Egypt."

The sun had set, and Darias set his plan for Savetor into motion. Several of the guards wished to be involved in the rape. He assured them that they'd have plenty of time for each of them to be a part of it. He chose the oldest guard and left him with Savetor. The man's screams could be heard all over the ship. Then they dragged him down the deck to the scold naked. Darias, Ren and Poseidon stood to watch as he was lashed with the whip. He received fourteen lashes, seven for each of them.

"You can't do this to me," he cried as they tied him to the table.

"Oh but we can," said Darias.

"You're lucky I don't just kill you," said Poseidon. "These are my sons you've been torturing for eight years while I was prevented from helping them. Believe me, I want to kill you."

"They'll hang for this," vowed Savetor, trying to sound hateful but the effect was spoiled by his tears and sobs.

"Begin," said Darias, tired of the commentary.

"Am I pardoned for what I'm about to do?" asked the guard.

"What's your name?" Darias asked.

"Fell," replied the guard. "Am I pardoned?"

"You don't need a pardon to punish a criminal," Darias said. "He's to be hanged when we return to Atlantis."

"What's he been accused of?" Fell asked.

"He's been raping my brother and me for the last eight years every single night," Darias said with a straight face. "He's been beating us with his fists every night for the past eight years and dragging us through the palace naked to the scold where he's had us whipped, one lash for every year of our lives."

Fell's eyes grew large and his mouth opened. He looked from Darias to Ren and back three times as if wondering if Darias was telling the truth. They were the princes after all. Who in their right mind would do anything like that to the two princes of Atlantis? He couldn't believe it. It was all clear in his startled blue eyes.

"I am Poseidon," said their father. "Darias speaks the truth. This man raped and beat my sons every night for the last eight years. He dragged them through the palace naked to be whipped every night for the last seven years."

"You're right," said Fell, looking back to Darias. "I need no pardon to punish a criminal."

"Then begin," Darias said. Ten seconds later Savetor's screams could be heard all over the ship once again.

Darias winced every time the whip lashed Savetor's skin. It brought back very painful memories and fueled his hatred for the consort. This man wasn't even his stepfather. He was nothing to him. He was the consort of a queen that wasn't his mother. The implications of that truth settled over him like a warm shower. He wasn't Amaila's son. He was the son of Poseidon and Isis. He would be king of Atlantis, but he was not an Atlantian. It nearly made him laugh. They would be ruled by a God instead of a demigod. They'd all been so ready to overthrow Amaila when they'd learned that she couldn't conceive even a generational God born heir to the throne. Now what they got was an actual God. Had any God ever ruled a country? He didn't know the answer to that one. He didn't really care.

He'd been taught all his life how to rule Atlantis. It had been in his lessons with Phalon. He and Ren had learned everything they needed to rule Atlantis. It had been taught to them by a Greek. Phalon's family had taught the royal children for generations. Now he'd taught Gods. It was almost hilarious. This is what he thought about while Savetor received his fifteen lashes. When it was over Savetor was thrown back into his cabin and guards stood at the door to keep him there. He was given no aid for his wounds. Darias wouldn't allow it.

Poseidon sat with them and talked to them about everything that had happened. He told them everything that he knew about Zeus and why he'd done what he'd done. He finally told them about what the Fates had said they would become. That had left them speechless for a long moment as they stared at each other. The Gods of Blood and Wolves? They had no idea what that even meant. To be the God of Blood meant nothing to Darias. He wasn't sure that being the God of Wolves meant much to Ren. There were no wolves in Atlantis.

"I want to talk to the Fates," Darias said into the silence that had grown after Poseidon's revelation.

"They live in a cave on the edge of Greece," Poseidon said. "You may have a chance to see them if the battle allows it. Make no mistake, the battle will happen. I'm going to make the sea swallow the deck and I'm going to place you and your soldiers behind the battle line. It's a dirty trick. A God isn't supposed to get involved in the battle of his people."

"Then why are you?" Ren asked.

"Because I have a vested interest in this one," Poseidon replied. "You two are my sons. Never before have there been Gods in the battles of Greece or Atlantis."

"Atlantis has never seen war," Darias pointed out. "So it's a time of many firsts for Atlantis."

He supposed it was a time of many firsts for Atlantis. War had never touched Atlantis before. This could all be laid at Zeus's feet.